Friday, July 16, 2010

God is always good. He always does what is right and best. This will be another thankfulness-and-mercies post.

These verses have jumped out at me of late, as I read through the book of John -

5:30 By Myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me.

(Well, there's a pile of lessons in that one, isn't there? Jesus set the example by being dependent on His Father to accomplish anything. And - wow - am I seeking to please Beth or Him Who Saved Me for His glory?)

6:28-29 Then they asked Him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent."

(For me, this is a humbling and relieving reminder of our simplest, but greatest task as Christ-followers.)

282 FIVE girls (ages 10 down to almost 3 years) playing hospital together happily - that's amazing to me, and very sweet

283 Mom and niece are here for the duration of the wait...the countdown till Baby's Birth Day

287 but I did find a pair of nice stretchy pants to wear today that will work

288 the kitchen-cleaning fairy came to my house in the night: poor mom couldn't sleep, so she got up and worked on the kitchen!

289 then she watched the two youngest while I took the three oldest out for some much needed errand-running (so glad to get it done before baby!)

290 whilst I was errand running, the cleaning-fairy descended again, even using (gasp!) a toothbrush and dust cloth in the process (seriously, I do very little deep cleaning)

291 clean glass globes on the dining room light fixture (fairy!)

292 EG and MK building a castle yesterday from leftover styrofoam craft blocks

39 weeks, 1 day - cutting up some of those good, inexpensive berries for the girls' breakfast this morning. Photo does not show, thankfully, that my shirt isn't really long enough... :-)

293 15 minutes in which to play with the camera and the sunflower shots

294 Holding MK's hand in Target parking lot today

295 Holding niece's hand in Target parking lot today

296 CA, up at the crack of dawn, joining me for my devotions...(yes, there was a sigh in me...I'd hoped to beat her to the punch and be alone with the Lord for a bit, but it's all good)...she sat next to me with her sippy of milk and box of raisins and whispered, seriously, "Raisins don't talk."

297 God's encouragement regarding anxieties that are trying to rear their heads...scriptures, quotes from the great books He has me reading

298 waiting...that there really isn't anything pressing at all...my (our) job right now is to wait and rest and keep enjoying this amazing, calm summer He's given us

299 doctoring EG's scratch on her back this morning, which was special to me because she turned around and said Thank you as she walked away

300 asked the Lord to show me what to make for supper last night...and He did, and all were satisfied. Thank you for being a listening God!

4 comments:

"...for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me." Ouch, when applied to my own life this part of this verse strikes a cord of conviction, makes me think about how often I choose to do what pleases myself...

I didn't have time to comment when I first read this, but thanks for sharing. Gave me much to ponder.

Anyway, just popping in to say that I've been thinking of you, and praying whenever I think of you. (And hoping that no news is good news, even if that good news is just that you're getting some rest or precious time with family)

Tiny Bio

I'm Beth. Today I'm 41. Jesus loves me, this I know. I love running and coffee and flowers and quiet space. BB is my best friend & husband these 18 years. We're still in awe over how many kids we have - 8 unique, full of life people we call ours. We're all still trying to figure out large family life together. It's messy. Really messy. And it's beautiful and rich, draining and maddening, and I'm in this space to think out loud about it all.

AH - 18EG - 17MK - 15LC - 13CA - 10CJ - 7

BH - 5

MES - 3

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14